The Prisoner of Azkaban: A New Perspective
by anime-gamer-001
Summary: Sky and his adopted sister Aimee are American transfer students at Hogwarts. Their story takes place in the same setting as the 3rd Harry Potter book. Chapter 3 up! Christmas break is coming up, so don't expect an update in a while...
1. Characters

Disclaimer 

Anything that you read and recognize from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series obviously isn't my work. This is simply a fanfiction. Duh.

Characters 

Schuyler "Sky" Thomas

Age: 16

Appearance: short Blonde Hair, Brown Eyes

Height: 5'7

Pet: Cat (Skittles)

House: Griffindor

Likes: Adventures, drawing

Dislikes: Being defeated

Area of study: Magic/Muggle Relations

Bio: American transfer student at Hogwarts, a 3rd year student. He loves muggles and is utterly fascinated by them. His parents are both in the Ministry of Magic, Muggle department, which is probably where he got it. His older sister is also a fan of muggles and muggle culture. He does cross-country broom races as a sport.

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Aimee Li Mei Thomas

Age: 14

Appearance: long Black Hair, Dark Brown Eyes

Height: 5'0

Pet: Bat (Jin)

House: Ravenclaw

Likes: Her older brother, magical creatures

Dislikes: Ghosts, spirits, and haunted houses

Area of study: Elemental Magic

Bio: Aimee is the adopted sister of Sky. She is just entering magic school. Li Mei is her Chinese last name. The only memorabilia she has of her biological parents is a picture of her as a baby in her mother's arms, with her father smiling behind her. On the back it is written "Be strong, Aimee. Your father, Jin" in Chinese. She absolutely adores her older brother Sky and is hardly ever apart from him.

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Kathryn "Katie" Thomas

Age: 21

Appearance: Light Brown Hair, green Eyes

Height: 5'9

Pet: Cat (M&M)

House: Griffindor

Likes: Annoying Sky, being in control

Dislikes: Bratty Slytherins

Area of study: Magic/Muggle History.

Bio: Sky's older sister, 21 years old and is an intern at Hogwarts. She is the Guidance Counselor and Resident Assistant for Griffindor. She is also the Griffindor Quidditch team manager.

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Lilly Holmes

Age: 16

Appearance: Blonde hair, gray eyes

Height: 5'4

Pet: Owl (Sherlock)

House: Hufflepuff

Likes: Sky, flirting

Dislikes: Rejection, insects, amphibians, reptiles

Area of study: Enchanting

Bio: Has a crush on Sky, but is too shy to confess to him. Is often stalking him in the halls and casting spells to try to lure him her way, but often fails. She dislikes slimy things, insects, mice and rats, virtually anything of the "Halloween" variety.

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Fumika Takahashi

Age: 15

Appearance: Short black hair, dark brown eyes

Height: 5'1

Pet: Owl (Tama-chan)

House: Ravenclaw

Likes: Laughing, causing mischief

Dislikes: Being outdone

Area of Study: Defense against the dark arts

Bio: A half Japanese, half British student at Hogwarts. Befriends Aimee right away. Aimee's clingy and obedient personality instantly clicks with Fumika's center-of-attention personality. She likes to pull pranks on people in good fun. Fred and George Weasley are her rivals.

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Harry Potter

Hermione Granger

Ron Weasley

Draco Malfoy

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Setting:

Same setting as the 3rd Harry Potter book with a few minor changes.

Background Story:

Sky and Aimee are both American students going to study at Hogwarts. Sky is a 16 year old who wants to study abroad. Aimee, his adopted younger sister, is 14 years old and is very clingy to him. She wants to study at Hogwarts for her first year to be with him.

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**New Terms**

Elemental Magic:

The "Final Fantasy" type of magic that consists of element-based spells, such as fire, water, ice, wind, light, etc. In this story, Aimee wants to learn elemental magic. Throughout the story, she will learn:

_Igniculus caestus_—"Fire Gauntlet" a fire-based spell that can shoot a small fireball from the hands or wand. The size and number of fireballs depends on magic skill. Once mastered, it can be cast without using a wand or staff.

_Aquatio aedifico_—"Water Creation" a water-based spell that can summon a limited amount of water to take on different forms. The amount of water and complexity of water's form depends on magic skill. Often used with _glacio adflo_. Always requires a wand or staff to cast.

_Glacio adflo_—"Freezing Breath" an ice-based spell that lets the caster breathe freezing wind for one breath. This spell can freeze water created by _aquatio aedifico_ to create useful objects. (I.E. cast _aquatio aedifico_ to make spheres of water, then freeze them with _glacio adflo_ to make them solid, then launch them at people ) One of the easiest elemental spells, a cold breeze or a frost-bite inducing chill could be created, whichever one the caster wants. Extreme colds, such as ones that can make objects shatter, require a little more practice. Once a witch or wizard gets relatively good at casting _glacio adflo_, it can be cast without using a wand or staff.

_Maturus_—"Increase Growth" a plant-based charm that allows the caster to speed up plant growth in a specific, small area, but will speed up its death as well. Speed of growth and area affected are dependent on the size and number of plants and the magic skill of the user. Useful for playing jokes on people, like tossing a seed in someone's food and casting _maturus_ on it.... Practical uses include gardening and food production. Once mastered, it can be cast without a wand or staff.

I'll come up with more spells as Aimee learns more, or if I need to add more for whatever reason.


	2. Chapter : Wizards and Witches in America

Chapter 1:

"Hogwarts?!" Aimee Thomas exclaimed, following her brother Sky as he walked down the blue-striped wallpapered hallway of their San Francisco house. "That's all the way in Europe!"

Sky was a 16-year-old student wizard, currently on summer vacation from Yosemite Valley School of Magic. He had brown eyes, and his blonde hair was sticking in all directions because he doesn't comb his hair on lazy summer days. He was wearing simple summer clothes to stay cool.

Aimee was a small 14-year-old Asian girl, with long black hair that was slightly wavy and dark brown eyes. Aimee looks much different than Sky because his parents adopted her when she was 2 years old. Since then, she has grown up rather attached to Sky, following almost all of his footsteps. She was dressed rather Muggle-ish, a summer outfit that let her tan skin get some sun, showing she was Mandarin Chinese.

"I know, that's what makes it so exciting! Don't you think?" replied Sky, entering his bedroom. The room had light blue carpet and off-white paint on the walls. A few YVSM Qudditch banners and Cross-Country Broom Marathon trophies decorated the room. He also had a large drawing desk where he spent a lot of time drawing. Sky carried a seemingly official envelope with the Hogwarts seal and placed it on his desk. "Anyway, Katie has been an intern there for a year already, so it's not like I'm too far away from family."

"But I'm just entering wizarding school, and I can't be separated from you during this transition," Aimee pleaded, stomping her foot lightly. Sky sat down to open the letter, taking out a few letters. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Look, you can take care of yourself at Yosemite Valley School of Magic without your older brother. You have your friends at school to help you with the transition when summer ends. You can do what I'm doing and spend a few years there, then come to Hogwarts if you don't like it there," Sky said, putting his hand on Aimee's shoulder.

Aimee pouted for a moment, then looked at the letters Sky had in his hands. "That's the application, right?" she asked, pointing to the letter.

"Yeah, why?" Sky replied. Suddenly, Aimee snatched the papers out of his hands and stomped out of the room.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Sky shouted, leaping out of his chair and ran out of his room after her. Aimee stomped down the staircase with Sky chasing her all the way down to their parent's office. Their parents, who both worked in the Ministry of Magic, had decorated their office with a mix of Muggle and Magic inspired decorations, along with many office tools from both societies. Aimee went to the photocopying machine and put the paper into it to start a copy.

Sky caught up to her and asked, "What are you doing!?"

"I'm going with you to Hogwarts," Aimee said sternly.

"What!?" he replied.

"I'm _going_ with you to Hogwarts!" Aimee said again, crossing her arms and pouting, a determined look on her face.

"Why? Don't you think you'll be better off here with your friends?" Sky pleaded.

"I just want to be with my big brother..." Aimee said, changing to a sincere face.

"But... well... I guess it can't be helped ..." Sky replied, scratching his head. The copy of the application slid out onto the paper tray. Aimee took her copy and dropped his copy in his hands while walking past, a satisfied smirk on her face.

(A few weeks later, after they both got accepted)

"K-Mart?" Aimee said with a questionable expression as she got out of the car. Aimee, Sky, and their parents walked to the front door.

"Yes, that's where I got all my school supplies." Sky replied, closing the door.

"But isn't this a muggle store?" Aimee asked as they walked towards the entrance, still surprised at the somewhat uncanny storefront.

"You'd be surprised. Many of the more unique items you see at K-Mart are magical, but Muggles can't use them. They're there for wizards like us to window shop. And those blue lights that start those muggle sales are actually gateways to the other side of the store where they sell the magical items." Sky explained.

There were many people inside shopping. All of them looked like muggles, but there were most likely a few wizards walking about. Sky, Aimee, and their parents went near the middle of the store, where a blue light stand was located. A clerk stood at the stand. Mr. Thomas nodded to a clerk and the clerk nodded back. He flipped on the blue light, and instantly a horde of muggles surrounded the stand. In the confusion, Sky took Aimee's hand and touched the blue light along with their parents. They were instantly zapped inside, but none of the surrounding muggles noticed in the pandemonium.

Aimee opened her eyes to what seemed like a store much larger than the K-mart they were in previously. There were no longer any traces of Muggle society anywhere in the store. Many wizards and witches walked about, using magic to push their shopping carts around. Robes and hats on clothing racks, magic books on stands where the bargain DVD's would be. A "Magical Ingredients" sign was in the place where the "Frozen Foods" section should have been. Almost every section of the store turned into a magical version of it.

"Mom, we're going to look at the pets. Can you get these books for me and Aimee?" Sky said as he handed his mom a list.

Him and Aimee went in the opposite direction to the pet section, where they kept magical companions to accompany young wizards and witches. They walked down the aisles of the pet section as owls of all sizes and shapes hooted from inside their cages and flapped their wings. Rats scurried around from inside their cages. Frogs hopped about and croaked from their tanks. Aimee looked around, deciding on which pet she would want.

"I have a cat already. They're good companions, but they like to go off on their own and do their own thing. Frogs are nasty things that get everything slimy. Owls are far too common. Everyone has those. A rat might be a good pet for you, but they don't live very long…" Sky rambled on, looking at each of the pets and commenting about them. Aimee paid no attention and looked other pets. An iguana yawned; a Chihuahua wagged its tail and gave a tiny bark. Aimee passed on, until she came upon a bat's cage.

"Wow! He's so cute!" Aimee exclaimed, looking closer at the bat. The bat looked asleep, his wings covering his body. His almost puppy-dog-like face looked sound asleep.

"Oh a bat! You don't see those very often. Just as efficient as owls, and can deliver things at night too." Sky said about the bat.

Aimee tapped on the cage a bit to get the bats attention. The bat slowly opened his big, beady, black eyes and blinked a couple of times at Aimee. "It's so adorable!" Aimee exclaimed.

"May I help you with anything?" the store clerk asked them.

"Yeah, I think my sister wants to hold that bat" Sky replied. The clerk looked at Aimee, and then gave a puzzled look at Sky. "She's my adopted sister," Sky said, seeing that the clerk noticed the obviously different racial appearance of Aimee. She kept tapping the bat's cage as it flapped its wings and gave cute faces.

The store clerk promptly opened the cage and took the bat out, placing it on Aimee's hands. It immediately crawled up her arm and rested on her shoulder, rubbing his head against her neck affectionately.

Awestruck by raw cuteness, Aimee exclaimed, "I'll buy it!!!"

Sky took Aimee to the wands section next. All the wands were neatly placed on finely lined tables sealed by glass, showing off their materials and price, much like a muggle jewelry store. Sky walked up to one of the tables and looked at one of the wands, indicating it with his finger.

"This is the same model as I have. Its pretty tough, not that flexible, but has power when it counts…" Sky rambled on. Aimee looked around at the other wands. She noticed what seemed like a muggle gun rack, except it held larger wands.

"What's over there?" she asked Sky, pointing at the wand rack.

"Oh those? Those are mini-staffs. Not many people have staffs nowadays. The larger ones used to be really popular. They're harder to cast _expelliarmus_ on, but they're just too big to keep in your pocket. They're good for casting the heavy-duty spells, like _expecto patronum_. They also add more power to the smaller spells too, but its large size also makes casting time slower. It's probably best for hitting people over the head with, however, the invention of the mini-staff got rid of enough of the staff's drawbacks to make it as practical as a wand."

Aimee went to the counter and asked the clerk to take out one of the mini-staffs. The clerk unlocked the glass window protecting them and took out a staff, about three and a half to four feet tall. It looked like a twisted branch of a tree that grew straight up in a spiral motion. The bottom of the staff was about half an inch in diameter, and gradually increased to about an inch and a half three quarters to the top, which at the top had sort of a bulge, which looked like it was swirling around the center. It was somewhat light and a curve one fourth of the way down for a good grip.

"This is one of the newer mini-staff models. It's made out of ash wood and has a black pearl in the center," said the clerk, pointing to the spiral center at its top. "It's a very good model for casting powerful spells."

Holding it in her hands, Aimee looked at it with a sort of glee expression on her face.

"This is the one I want, Sky!" said Aimee.

"Staffs aren't that good for beginners, Aimee" said Sky, "I think you should get a wand first."

Aimee made an adorable puppy-dog face.

"Fine… just test it out before buying it," Sky said, sighing heavily.

"The testing room is this way," said the clerk, pointing to a doorway.

Aimee and Sky followed him to what looked like a firing range, where a few wizards were casting spells using wands. Aimee stepped up to one of the booths and pointed the staff down the range, holding it with both hands.

"Hocus pocus!" she shouted, closing her eyes tight and swinging the staff forward as far as she could. Sky burst out laughing. "I don't know any spells yet…" Aimee said blushing and shifting her feet.

The clerk came up beside her and showed her the proper stance to use a staff. Staffs are very different than wands, because instead of being pointed at the target, the staff is simply raised in the direction of the opponent. Accuracy is very dependent on the wizard or witch's will power.

With the correct stance now, and Sky wiping away tears of laughter, Aimee got ready and raised the staff up, closing her eyes and full of determination.

As soon as she did that, a white light came out from the top of the staff. A ray then shot out of it, going down the length of the range. Awestruck, Sky applauded.

"That is a good model for you," the clerk said, "You'll be good at elemental magic."

Unaware of what the clerk was saying, Aimee held the staff in her hands with a bright look on her face. She ran over to Sky and gave him a hug.

"I did it! I just cast my first spell!" Aimee said, smiling.

"Heh, good job," Sky said scratching his head, knowing that that didn't really count as a spell.

"This is what I love about muggles! With my new electronic pocket organizer, I won't miss anymore classes anymore!" Sky exclaimed, oogling at the unopened box while walking back to the car.

Aimee carried all of her school supplies of books, Hogwarts uniforms (they had magical weavers to make special orders), and her bat cage. Her staff and broom were both strapped to her back, adding onto the weight. She had much difficulty trying to catch up with the rest of her family. "Wait for me!" she shouted, panting and her knees giving way.

They arrived at their car and packed all the supplies in the trunk. Aimee sat next to Sky with the bat on her lap.

"Sky, what should I name him?" Aimee asked, looking into the cage and sticking her finger inside. The bat licked her finger friendly.

"Anything you want," Sky replied inattentively, still admiring the electronic organizer.

"I think I'll name him after my real dad," Aimee said, smiling. Sky looked at her momentarily with a rather concerned look on his face. "Jin…" Aimee whispered to the bat. She scratched Jin behind the ears and he gave a playful peep.

"How do I look?" Aimee said, walking into Sky's room in full Hogwarts uniform. She spun around to show off the black robe that was fastened with a brooch that had the Hogwarts' seal on it. Underneath she wore a gray sweater-vest over a white blouse and a gray skirt with white high-socks and black school shoes. She didn't have a tie, which were given after being assigned to a certain house.

"It looks good. I wonder which house we'll be in," Sky said, organizing books and clothes on his bed. His trunk and broom were at the foot of the bed.

"I want to be in the same house as you, big brother!" Aimee said hugging him from behind but nearly making him fall on his neatly organized stacks of clothes.

"Watch it! I just hope I don't get into Slytherin. I heard they're a rough crowd. Especially with such a creepy name…"

Aimee sat down on a clear part of Sky's bed, watching him as he busily packed his stuff away.

"Don't you have to pack, Aimee?" Sky asked noticing her boredom as he started putting his clothes in his trunk.

"Already did. I'm so excited about this! I've never been to a different country before! Well, not that I can remember. I was born in China after all." Aimee said, looking at her feet. Sky looked at her for a moment and then continued packing. "Where's that cat of yours anyway?"

"Skittles is outside right now. I told you, cats like doing their own thing. She'll be back in a few minutes at dinner time." Sky said, wondering how 'China' led to the topic of his cat. Sky continued packing as Aimee paced around the room bored.

"It's getting dark out, maybe I should take Jin out of his cage." Aimee said, walking back to her room.

Sky sighed as he finished putting all his stuff away. He closed the lid of his trunk and sat on it, resting and contemplating. _I wonder if she knows anything about her father…_ Sky thought.

"Dinner time!" Mrs. Thomas shouted at the foot of the stairs. Sky went down the stairs, closely followed by Aimee with her bat on her shoulder. Skittles immediately came through the cat door in the front door and ran past their feet. Skittles had a mix of yellow and orange fur and wore a necklace around her neck with a blue gem hanging from it.

"We have a surprise for you two!" Mr. Thomas said as the two walked in with their pets.

"Katie?!" they both exclaimed as their older sister sitting at the table. Mr. Thomas was sitting at the head while Mrs. Thomas took the seat to the left of him.

"Hello! Long time no see!" Katie said, giving a little wave and smiling.

"What are you doing here?" Sky said.

"I heard you two are coming to Hogwarts, so I came all the way back home to pick you two up!" she replied. Aimee ran over to her and gave her a hug. "My Aimee, you've grown so much in a year!"

"Thanks, I'm so excited about Hogwarts! I can't wait to go there." Aimee said, sitting next to Katie. Sky sat across from her when suddenly Katie gave a mischievous grin.

"So how's widdle brother doing without big sissy wissy?" Katie said, as if talking to an infant.

"Just fine…" Sky said, a little annoyed.

"I have an A in muggle studies!" Aimee said to Katie.

"That's good! You should be in Muggle relations then!" she replied, patting her on the head.

"Now now, the food is getting cold," Mrs. Thomas said.

"Yes mom," the three of them said as they dove into their plates.

"My my, what a cute bat!" Katie said, looking at Aimee's shoulder.

"Isn't he adorable? I named him Jin, after my real dad!" Aimee said with a smile, feeding a baby carrot to Jin. He nibbled on it happily. The other Thomas's looked at each other. Mr. Thomas simply closed his eyes and continued eating.

Airports are the center for both Muggle and Magical international travel. There isn't that many ways to travel overseas other than muggle planes or muggle ships, so Aimee, Sky, and Katie were pretty much stuck riding a plane to London.

"Wow… It's so pretty!" Aimee exclaimed as she looked out the window during take-off. All the lights of the city shrunk as the plane ascended. The three of them sat in the same row.

"Not that many wizards or witches riding planes these days…" Katie said to Sky, looking over the seats. "And you would think that with modern magical knowledge they would have found out a way to get the Floo network to work overseas."

Sky was fast asleep already. And snoring.

"That was quick…" Katie said, poking his nose with no response from him. "Fine, ignore me then." She looked to her left and Aimee's face was plastered to the window.

With Sky snoring to the right and Aimee bouncing off the walls to her left, Katie slumped in her chair and said, "This will be a long flight…"


	3. Chapter 2: Arrival in England

Chapter 2:

Sky opened his eyes to see Jin's big, beady black eyes staring back at him. Jin proceeded to lick his nose.

"Too early…" Sky said and pushed Jin away with his hands.

"The plane has landed," Katie said, putting Jin back on Aimee's lap, who was fast asleep. "Wake up Aimee," she said.

Sky stood up and got his bags while Aimee was just waking up, tiredly stuffing Jin in her pocket so no muggles see him.

Sky, Aimee, and Katie exited the plane and step foot in the London International Airport. Hundreds of rushing people walked briskly down the wide hallways, hoping to catch their flight in time.

"Look at all the wizards and witches!" exclaimed Katie.

"I don't see any, how can you tell?" Sky asked, looking at what just seemed like a very large cluster of people.

"You'll get a keen eye for European wizards and witches after staying at Hogwarts for a while." She replied.

The three of them walked amongst the crowd to the baggage reclaim area. After having picked up their trunks, brooms, and pets, they called a taxi to take them to the train station.

"Ohh, taxicabs are black and funny looking here," said Aimee, who was used to the trolley cars and yellow taxis of San Francisco.

After loading the trunk with their items, the taxicab took them to the train station, passing many of London's sights along the way. Aimee stayed plastered to the window, taking it all in. She took Jin out of her pocket and placed him on her shoulder so he can enjoy the view too.

They arrived at the train station, which was just as busy as the airport, but had a more metropolitan look to it. Bricks and tiles were everywhere, and many of the trains were old fashioned.

"This is like the trolley cars back home!" said Aimee.

"Lets see… the train ticket says… nine and three quarters? How does that happen?" said Sky, looking at his ticket.

"This way," Katie said as they walked down the crowded decks.

They followed her to a pillar between nine and ten.

"Right here!" Katie said, pointing at a solid brick pillar. Sky looked at it with a screwed face.

"This? Are you joking?" Sky said, "Do you expect us to just run right through it?"

"Gangway!" shouted someone behind him. A line of kids pushing luggage carts charged right at Sky.

"Hey watch it!" Sky shouted, leaping out of the way.

Five kids: a set of twins that were older than him, two boys around his age that looked unrelated, and a girl about Aimee's age ran straight for the pillar. One by one they vanished inside the wall of bricks.

"Amazing!" exclaimed Aimee. Jin crawled out of her pocket and peeked his head out, giving a shriek of excitement.

"Make sure you hit the pillar head on, otherwise it won't work. I kinda hit it the first time I did it," Katie said, blushing and scratching her head.

"Katie? Is that you?" a voice behind them said. Katie turned around to see a rather stout woman with red hair, dressed rather flamboyantly with a large hat, large purse, what seemed like various quilts around her for a dress and high heels.

"Mrs. Weasley! How nice to meet you here!" said Katie as they gave each other hugs.

"Who are these fine youngsters?" Mrs. Weasley said, looking at Sky and Aimee.

"Oh, that's my younger brother Sky, and my younger sister Aimee. They're going to Hogwarts," Katie replied.

"I see, follow your older sister's footsteps, but you all look so different…" said Mrs. Weasley, pointing at Aimee.

"Oh, Aimee is adopted, and Sky just got a different set of genes," Katie said, explaining the very noticeable differences between all of them, Aimee being asian, Sky having blonde hair and dark eyes, and Katie having brown hair and green eyes.

"I see…" Mrs. Weasley said. Sky and Aimee looked at each other, freaked out by Mrs. Weasley's rather disturbing personality. "Are you staying at Hogwarts for another year?"

"Yes yes, after this year I've finished my internship. I'll be the Griffindor Resident Assistant again, so I'll make sure Ron, Ginny, and the twins keep out of trouble," Katie said.

"Oh you're such a good girl!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Aimee here is going into her first year at Hogwarts."

"Spending her first year in a foreign country? What a brave young girl!" Mrs. Weasley said, petting Aimee on the head. Aimee gave a fake smile, slowly backing away from the scary woman.

"Alright, now Aimee, you can go first." Katie said, pointing to where Aimee had to go. She moved her luggage cart to the indicated place and faced the pillar.

For some reason, Mrs. Weasley felt obliged to act as a mother figure for poor adopted Aimee and straighten out her uniform and hair, as if she didn't have a mother already.

"Umm… thank you?" Aimee said shakily, freaked out by her.

"There, you're all ready, now go!" Mrs. Weasley said, giving Aimee a firm shove, sending her and her luggage cart right into the pillar. She instantly disappeared into it.

"Come, you next," Mrs. Weasley said to Sky, motioning him with her hands. "Your hair is so sloppy" she said, messing with his hair as if he was her own child. She licked her hands and tried taming his hair. Sky stood there, silently, disgusted and now very disturbed. Katie chuckled to herself lightly.

Sky broke away from Mrs. Weasley and went for the pillar, before she could mess him up anymore than she already has.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley," Katie said, giving her a hug.

"Good luck with the students!" Mrs. Weasley shouted as Katie followed Sky into the pillar.

Just like K-mart, the train station was a magical version of a muggle train station. Wizards and witches fully dressed walked briskly about. All sorts of owls flew through the area with envelopes in their talons. Trunks, cages, and broomsticks were in organized piles. Groups of Hogwarts students in gray uniforms moved together in packs. Mothers kissed their students goodbye.

"We should get aboard soon," Katie said, pushing Sky and Aimee along.

They boarded the train and found an empty car for them to stay in.

"I'm so excited!" Aimee said excitedly, "I'm going to go to different cars to meet new people."

"Wait up!" Katie said while Aimee ran out the door, "Don't get into trouble!" she shouted.

"I think I'll go meet some people too," Sky said, walking out of the car.

All alone in the car, Katie pouted for being left alone, as if an old lady. She took out a newspaper and began reading it.

"Deranged Murderer on the loose…" Katie read the headline out loud, "Sirius Black escaped Azkaban."

(Story split: Aimee and Sky now have their own plots…kinda)

Aimee ran down the train car's finely decorated hallway, passing by older Hogwarts students. Looking for people her age, she peeked into each of the booths. A group of friends eating candy, another group playing cards, a creepy old man sleeping. She saw some interesting things in each booth. Not looking where she was going, she ran straight into someone and fell to the floor.

"Ah I'm sorry!" Aimee said, getting up.

"Are you ok?" the person said, reaching out his hand to help her up. His long black hair was very scruffy, and he had round glasses on. He was in full Hogwarts uniform, as was everyone else on the train. Aimee noticed a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. She immediately recognized who this was.

"Harry Potter?" she exclaimed, standing up with Harry's help.

Harry nodded.

"This is so cool! It's an honor to meet you," Aimee said, smiling.

"What an adorable bat!" a female voice behind him said.

Jin had crawled out of Aimee's pocket and perched himself on her shoulder without her even noticing.

"His name is Jin," Aimee said, scratching Jin behind the ears. Jin gave a satisfied peep.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said, extending out her arm for a handshake.

"Aimee Li Mei Thomas," Aimee said, shaking hands.

"An American?" a male voice said, "What a funny accent."

"Oh hush Ron, don't be so rude," Hermione said to the person behind her, "I'm sure our accent seems funny to her."

"Keep moving!" someone said. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Aimee were all pushed out of the way by a blonde, pale, pointy nosed boy. A gang closely followed him: two large guys, about the same age as him. All of them wore the Slytherin colors on his tie. A smug, sinister grin was on their faces as they pushed them aside. The first one immediately noticed Aimee.

"Aha…a first year, correct?" he said, turning to face Aimee. The other two guys surrounded her, extending out their arms to lean against the wall, cornering her.

Aimee backed away, but was stopped by the wall.

"Better be careful who you ally yourself with. Those Griffindors over there might have their stupidity rub off onto you," he said, touching Aimee's chin. Jin exposed his teeth and hissed at the Slytherin.

"Piss off, Malfoy!" Hermione said, stepping up to them.

"Why should we listen to you, mudblood?" he snapped back, him and his gang facing her.

"Hermione, just let it go for now, we can't get into trouble at the beginning of the year," Harry said, holding Hermione back.

"Hmph," said the Slytherin, turning around and heading down the hall with his gang into a booth, kicking out a few 2nd years out.

"Who is that?" Aimee asked.

"Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House. Try to avoid him at all costs," Harry said, "We'll be on our way now, good luck, Aimee."

Still angry, Hermione and the others went to their own booth. Aimee continued on in her previous direction.

"All aboard!" the conductor shouted as the last of the students hurried onto the train. Sky, who was at the end of the train looking out onto the London Train Station, just came back inside and was walking back to his car. Further down the hall he saw a blonde girl, about his age, walking briskly toward him. It didn't look like she was paying attention where she was walking because she seemed to be looking at her feet. She was carrying a couple of books and a wand in her arms.

Not looking where she was going, the girl tripped on a fold in the carpet, spilling all of her stuff on the ground and face-first into the ground.

"Ouch…." She said, standing back up.

"Are you ok?" Sky said, running to her and kneeling down to help pick up her stuff.

"Yes I'm fine," she said, collecting her stuff.

"You have to watch where you're going," Sky said, placing some books in her arms.

Sky put his hand on her wand to pick it up, but she accidentally put her hand on his. She immediately pulled away, blushing, except Sky didn't seem to notice. He simply put the wand on her stack of books.

"Thanks," she said, still blushing heavily, "My name is Lilly Holmes."

"My name is Sky Thomas," Sky said, standing up.

"Are you American?" Lilly asked.

"Yep, you can tell by my accent, right?" Sky said, smiling and scratching his head.

Lilly was still blushing when she nodded.

"Anyway, I have to go, they're checking our tickets now," Sky said, waving and began walking back.

Lilly just stood there, her face bright red, but smiling innocently.

"Sky! Sky! You won't believe who I literally ran in to!" Aimee exclaimed as Sky walked into the car.

"Who?" Sky asked. Katie sat quietly, smiling.

"Harry Potter! I ran into him on the train on accident, and he helped me up!" Aimee said excitedly.

"No way! He's here?!" Sky said with an astonished look. He looked at Katie for confirmation. She nodded.

The conductor opened the door and asked to check everyone's tickets. Aimee couldn't stop smiling.

"Sir, is Harry Potter really on this train?" Sky asked the conductor. Katie kicked Sky in the shins for not believing her.

"Yes he is," said the conductor.

"I told you so, Sky," said Katie, sticking out her tongue.

The train came to a stop.

"Huh? I wonder what's going on," Katie said.

"Why did we stop?" asked Sky. Aimee was fast asleep on his shoulder.

"I don't know, maintenance maybe?" Katie said, looking out the window to see what might have happened.

The lights suddenly went out. Girl's shrieks could be heard from nearby cars. Someone ran by the door. Sky opened it and stuck his head out.

"What's going on?" Sky asked.

"Dementors are inspecting the train!" the guy shouted back, still running.

"Dementors?" Sky said.

"Uh oh… Get back in the booth, Sky," Katie said, looking out the window. A few dark silhouettes broke the moonlight sky as they descended upon the train.

Aimee began to shiver and held onto Sky for warmth, still asleep. The temperature dropped rapidly and they could now see their breath.

"What's going on?" Sky asked.

"The Dementors are coming to inspect the train. I read in the newspaper that a wanted criminal broke out of Azkaban, a maximum security prison for wizards. They must be looking to see if he's on the train." Katie replied.

Sky looked out the window and got a good glimpse of the dementors. They looked like black wraiths, with thin limbs and fingers and a black cloak covering their entire body but their hands and mouth. The torn and tattered end of the cloak trailed behind them in the wind.

The temperature kept dropping. There was complete and utter silence. Ice crystals began forming on the windows. A silhouette from behind the door's window passed by them.

The mere presence of the dementor in the hallway seemed to suck the life out of Sky, as he suddenly became weak.

Katie released a big sigh when it passed.

"Is it over?" Sky asked, whispering.

Katie nodded.

Suddenly a flash of light and a shout came from a booth.

"HARRY!" shouted a girl.

Aimee woke up with a jump.

"Is it going after Harry Potter?" Sky asked, alarmed.

Katie got out of her seat and went to the door to see.

"What happened? Why is it so cold here?" said Aimee, rubbing her eyes.

"Shh, wait a moment," Sky said, standing up too.

With a loud shriek, the dementor flew down the hall and out of the train, startling Katie as she fell backwards. The lights turned back on and the temperature went back to normal. Katie and Sky ran out of their booth and rushed to where the shout came from. There were already students crowding up the entrance of the booth, wanting to catch a glimpse of what happened.

"Make way, make way!" shouted Katie as she entered the booth, "Griffindor Residential Assistant coming through!"

Katie fought through the crowd and kneeled beside Harry Potter, who was lying on the ground.

"What happened?" Katie asked a man who was also kneeling beside Harry.

"He suddenly passed out when the Dementors came into the booth," the man replied. The two of them sat Harry up back onto the seat.

"What happened to Potter now? What a weakling," Draco Malfoy said, peeking over the crowd.

"Shoo, all of you," Katie said, pushing people out the door, "Go back to your seats."

"Will he be alright, Miss Thomas?" Hermione Granger asked.

"He'll be alright," said the man, "I'm Professor Lupin, the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor."

"Ok, he should be fine here with you then," Katie said, letting out a sigh of relief. She stood back up and walked back to the door, Sky looking in from outside the booth.

Sky and Katie got back to their seats just as the train started up again.

"What was all that about?" Aimee asked while they walked back in.

"It was nothing, go back to sleep," said Sky.

"It'll be about an hour 'till we get there," Katie said.

Aimee nodded and drifted back into sleep on Sky's shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4: Hogwarts

Chapter 3 

"Finally, we're here!" said Sky, looking out the window. The giant castle that is Hogwarts shone in the moonlight. The giant windows of the dining hall shone yellow from the candle light inside.

As the train approached, a few dementors patrolling the skies shone in the moonlight.

Sky gently nudged Aimee awake. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Are we there yet?" Aimee asked, sitting upright.

"Yep, we just arrived," Katie said as the train slowed down to a stop.

All the students promptly got off the train and tried to organize themselves. A very large and tall man with long, shaggy black hair and a large beard stood taller than everyone.

"Firs' years an' transfer students this way!" the large fellow shouted, motioning with his hand.

"I guess that's both of us," Sky said to Aimee, who was still yawning.

"I have to go this way. I'll see you guys later at the banquet hall," Katie said, walking down the crowded deck in a sea of Hogwarts students.

Sky and Aimee went over to the giant man, who was directing students who looked Aimee's age onto boats.

"Well 'ello 'ere!" he said as they approached, "Ya must be Sky! And Aimee, I presume?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Sky asked.

"Well, yer the only person 'ere that isn't a firs' year, so ya must be tha only male transfer student. My name's Hagrid, an' I'll be directin' ya to Hogwarts!" he said.

All the first year students plus Sky and a few other female transfer students boarded the long boats. Aimee and Sky were on the same boat as Hagrid and sat right in front of him.

"What a cute bat ya got there. " Hagrid said, pointing to Jin, who was resting on Aimee's shoulder.

Aimee nodded, feeling rather intimidated by the large fellow.

"I'm the professor fer Magical Creatures," he said, "so if anything goes wrong with yer bat, ya can ask me."

"Thank you," Aimee said with a smile.

Sky was leaning over the edge of the boat, looking at the water. The moonlight reflected off the water's surface gave a shiny, whimsical blue glow to all the boats. The boats approached closer to Hogwarts, the castle walls now looming over them. Aimee looked straight up, not realizing she was leaning back too far until she landed in Sky's lap.

"This will be our home for the next year," Sky said, putting his hands on Aimee's shoulders.

"Yes, and I get to be with big brother…" Aimee said, relaxed.

The group of students with Hagrid entered the dining hall, which was lavishly decorated with tapestries, floating candles, and a decorated ceiling of a perfect night sky. Four long tables ran down the length of the hall, lined with students wearing matching neckties. Empty plates and cups were placed throughout the tables.

The students all walked down the center to the opposite end, where a table running the width had all the faculty. Hagrid sat down at one of the empty seats at the faculty table. A very old wizard with long white hair and a tall, pointy hat and long, flowing robes stood up.

"Welcome first year students to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry!" he said, his voice resonating throughout the hall, "I am professor Dumbledore, head master of the school.

Sky hardly paid any attention, as he was talking in all the sights. Yosemite Valley School of Magic didn't have a great hall such as this. Dumbledore continued on with his speech, which Sky only caught "Dementors" from.

"Now, we will carry on with the sorting process to determine which house first years and transfer students will belong too," Professor Dumbledore said.

An old, tattered hat was right in front of the table, resting on a wooden stool. The hat suddenly burst into a song, frightening many of the younger first years.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me…" The hat continued on with its song.

When the hat finished its song, everyone applauded loudly, as the hat seemed to bow its tip towards everyone.

"We will now call out the names of first years. Please come forward and put the sorting hat on your head," continued Dumbledore, "Alba, Jasmine!"

A brown haired, rather tan girl stepped forward, put on the boarding hat and sat on the stool. A few moments passed until the hat shouted "GRIFFINDOR!"

Applause erupted from one of the tables as Jasmine walked towards the Griffindor table, a look of glee on her face.

"I wonder what house we'll be stuck in," Sky said, watching the next student go in line.

"As long as I'm in the same house as you, I'll be fine," Aimee said, holding on to Sky's arm. A few minutes passed by until Professor Dumbledore called Aimee's name.

"Thomas, Aimee Li Mei!" Aimee walked hurriedly to the hat and put it on her head. The large hat was far to big for her and she had to hold it up with her hands.

"Hmmm…" said the hat.

Aimee found this rather eerie.

"Ahh, you would make a very good Slytherin."

Aimee's heart sank.

"But then again, you want to be with your dear brother."

Aimee nodded.

"We will see about that," the hat said, "RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table erupted in applause as Aimee stood up and began walking to her table, but then going back to put the hat back on his stool.

Aimee sat down at the empty end of the table, where it was reserved for the first years.

"Hey Aimee!" she heard a voice shout her name from further up the table. Aimee looked up to see an asian girl who looked a little older than her. When she saw Aimee see her, she gave a wide grin and got out of her seat to sit across from her.

"Umm… hello?" Aimee said, feeling rather unprotected without Sky by her side.

"My name is Takahashi! Fumika Takahashi!" said the girl. She was a bit taller than Aimee and had black hair that was down to her neck. Her thin hair was neatly kept brushed behind her ears. She had a rather mischievous look on her face.

"So you're a first year, I can finally get someone to call me 'sempai,'" said Fumika, "I'm a second year!" Fumika extended her hand out to Aimee.

Shaking her hand, Aimee asked, "Is 'sempai' a special name for a witch?"

"No no, it's a Japanese word. It means… 'superior one' I guess. Just call me 'Fumika-sempai,' ok?"

Aimee gave a confused look.

"I'm Japanese, and that's what I was going to ask you next! What are you?"

"I'm American…" Aimee said, kinda scared of Fumika's hyperactivity.

"No dummy! I mean like what ethnicity are you? Korean? Filipina?"

"I'm Chinese," replied Aimee.

"Darn, I was hoping you'd be Japanese. I haven't met any other Japanese students yet. The only person I can bug is Cho Chang, a 4th year. Anyway, I'm pleased to meet you! We'll become partners in crime, 'kay?"

Aimee nodded and smiled, since she wanted to make a friend right away.

"We will now sort the transfer students to their houses. McDowell, Evangeline!" said Dumbledore as a rather short, long blonde haired girl went up to the sorting hat.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted as applause came from the Slytherin table.

"Thomas, Schuyler!"

Sky approached the stool and put the hat on his head. The hat began talking to him.

"So, this is Miss Aimee Li Mei's older brother," the hat said.

"Yessir," Sky said.

"Hmm… You want to be able to protect her, but at the same time you want her to learn to be independent, am I correct?"

Sky was amazed at how the hat knew his inner feelings about Aimee.

"Well, I couldn't agree more. She will do fine in Ravenclaw. You however, would make a good GRIFFINDOR!"

Applause came from the Griffindor table. While walking over to the table, he caught a glimpse of the Ravenclaw table. Aimee was out of her seat and had a worried expression on her face.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Sky mouthed to her.

"GRIFFINDOR!" the sorting hat shouted.

"Griffindor?!" Aimee shouted, standing up.

"Griffindor! Hehehe!" Fumika shouted, jumping out of her seat as well to complete the saying of Griffindor 3 times in a row for no particular reason…

"But… but!" Aimee said, watching Sky step down and walk over to the Griffindor table, who was cheering and shaking hands with Sky.

"But what? He's your older brother, right?" Fumika asked, "Don't worry, you'll be fine with Fumika-sempai at your side!" she said, leaning over the table and making a confident motion.

Aimee ignored her and watched as Sky mouthed something to her and sat down amongst a group of people his age. Aimee sat down again with a sad look on her face.

"Ara? Cheer up girl!" Fumika said, patting Aimee on the head.

Aimee looked up at Fumika, then slumped back down again, still sad.

Fumika sighed and gave a helpless gesture. "Just give it time, you'll get used to not being with him every waking moment. I was saving this for later… but I guess I can give it to you because I'm such a nice person."

Fumika took a little box that had a picture of a frog on it.

Aimee looked at it, then looked up at Fumika.

"It's a chocolate frog! These will become your favorite past time after spending a few days here!" Fumika opened the box and a brown object flew out of it onto Aimee's head.

"Aiieee!" Aimee shrieked as the chocolate frog jumped up and down on her head. Jin climbed up on top of her head as well and tried to eat it.

"Now, we shall begin the feast!" said Dumbledore, extending his arms.

The chocolate frog leaped off of Aimee's head, and into an empty bowl in front of her. At the same time, Lavish entrees grew out from the center of each of the plates. Vanilla ice cream was now in the bowl where the chocolate frog was. Aimee looked at the bowl, waiting to see what happened to the frog. The frog was able to crawl out enough to show his head and arms, and gave a gesture of defeat.

Fumika slumped back in her seat. "How come I never get that much luck in catching those darn Chocolate frogs?"

"What a feast!" Sky said, admiring the meal that suddenly appeared before him.

Sky immediately went for some chicken wings and began eating them, one in each hand.

"You look rather hungry there," a female voice said from across the table.

Sky looked up to see a girl, about the same age as him, with bushy brown hair and a cute face with brown eyes.

"Mmf Hmmf," Sky said, dropping his drumsticks and wiping food off of his face. He promptly swallowed and introduced himself.

"I'm Sky Thomas, just transferred here from America," he said, extending his arm, "I'm a 3rd year."

She looked at his greasy hand and hesitated for a moment, then shook it with an unpleasant expression.

"Hermione Granger," she replied.

Sky gave a smile and continued eating, accidentally bumping the person to his right with his elbow.

"Watch it! Try to be a little cleaner, will you?"

"Oh Ron, it's not like you're that much cleaner," Hermione said.

"Oh yeah, and how would you know? Tell her she's wrong, Harry!" said Ron, nudging the next person to his right.

"Harry?" Sky said, "Harry Potter?" he asked, looking down the table. The messy black hair, round glasses, and the especially noticeable forehead scar indicated that it was indeed Harry Potter.

"Yes?" Harry Potter said, looking down the table at Sky.

"The Harry Potter? I didn't know you were a Griffindor! I'm Sky Thomas, Katie Thomas's younger brother!"

"Believe me, he doesn't quite live up to all that hype that surrounds him," Hermione said.

"Don't listen to her, she doesn't know what she's talking about," Ron said into Sky's ear.

"Are you all 3rd years?" Sky asked, seeing that they were all about the same age.

"Yep," said Hermione.

Sky looked over to the Ravenclaw table to see how Aimee was doing. He saw her smiling, enjoying herself with what looked like a new friend she made.

Hemione noticed him and asked, "Is that girl your sister?"

Sky nodded.

"But why is she…"

"Adopted," Sky said, taking another bite out of a chicken wing.

"I see, how did you realize she could be a witch?" Hermione asked.

"Well, when my parents went to adopt her, her birth certificate was magically signed. And with both my parents a graduated wizard and witch, they could tell right away that she was had magic," Sky said, taking a bite out of the drumstick in his left hand.

"I see. Both my parents are muggles. My grandmother was the witch in the family," Hermione replied.

"Wow, interesting! So you must have been pretty much raised as a muggle, right?" Sky said, "I'm fascinated by muggles. I want to work in Muggle/Magic relations after magic school."

"Ron's father works in that department!" Hermione said, pointing at Ron.

"What?" Ron said, giving Hermione a look for interrupting his talk with Harry.

"What do you mean 'what?' Go back to talking to Harry!" Hermione said back. Ron went back to talking to Harry. "As you can see, those two aren't quite the brightest of the bunch," she said to Sky.

Sky nodded and drank a glass of juice to wash the chicken down.

"Why are you eating so primitively anyway?" Hermione asked Sky, obviously disgusted with the way Sky was inhaling the food.

"Have you ever been on a muggle airplane? That's the only muggle invention I can't stand. Microwaves and microwaved food. Absolutely disgusting! It ruins all the taste! I haven't eaten since breakfast!" Sky said, taking more bites out of his chicken.


End file.
